Comm Eye Health Vol. 30 No. 98 2017 pp 44. Published online 07 September 2017.
Key community eye health messages
Related content
A comprehensive school eye health programme:
![Smiling Indian school children](https://cehjournal.org/wp-content/themes/cehj-theme/img/grey.gif)
- Should be integrated into a broader school health programme
- Requires a goal that will result in positive change
- Must have the engagement of the ministries of health and education
- Needs ’SMART’ objectives for each component of the programme
A key issue in a school eye health programme is that children may not wear their spectacles.
![School girl looking at her appearance in a mirror whilst trying on spectacles, she is smiling.](https://cehjournal.org/wp-content/themes/cehj-theme/img/grey.gif)
- Parents should understand why a child needs spectacles
- The child’s vision must improve with correction
- The child must feel comfortable wearing spectacles and like the frames
- The spectacles should be affordable
- Teachers should encourage children to wear their glasses
A school eye health programme requires careful planning, with a goal and specific objectives which address:
![School teacher, wearing spectacles, with her arm around a young boy's shoulders, leaning in to hear what he is saying.](https://cehjournal.org/wp-content/themes/cehj-theme/img/grey.gif)
- School children with refractive errors and other eye conditions
- Teachers who may themselves have refractive errors or other eye conditions
- Broader eye health education: children can act as ‘agents of change’ in their families and communities